Nov. 16, 2006
LAKE BUENA VISTA Fla. - Fairfield earned three of the five major Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) postseason awards and landed four selections on the All-MAAC Teams as announced by the conference prior to the start of the 2006 MAAC Volleyball Championship at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex. Headlining the awards were junior Lindsey Lee (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph), who was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, freshman Barbie Thistle (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield), who was named the Setter of the Year and Head Coach Jeff Werneke, who was named the Anaconda Sports Coach of the Year.
Junior Jazmin Pa'akaula (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph), freshman Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) and Thistle were named to the All-MAAC Second Team while Lee earned first team honors.
Lee was an offensive force for the Stags, finishing the regular season with 4.26 kills per game, the second best average in the conference. She also averaged 4.07 digs per game and posted a .288 hitting percentage along with 17 double-doubles on the year. Lee earned Volleyball Player of the Week honors three times this season, once as offensive player of the week and twice as defensive player of the week. She also became the fifth Stag in program history to record 1,000 career digs and 1,000 career kills. Lee has earned All-MAAC second team honors in each of the previous two seasons.
Thistle, a five-time MAAC Rookie of the Week honoree, had a phenomenal debut running the Stags' offense with a league-best 12.35 assists per game. She also finished the season third in conference in service aces with 0.52 per game and was ranked as high as eighth nationally in the category. Thistle's .317 hitting percentage was good for fifth in the league. In addition, Thistle posted 2.23 digs per game along with 0.55 per game. She has collected 1,062 assists which is the sixth-highest single-season total and sets her eighth on the career assists chart. Earlier this season, Thistle record nine service aces against Iona for the second highest single match total in program history.
Werneke guided the Stags to an impressive 22-6 overall record and an 18-0 mark in the MAAC, for Fairfield's first undefeated conference mark since 2000 and third-straight MAAC Regular Season Championship. Since taking the helm in 2002, Fairfield has posted an 87-71 overall record and a 47-7 mark in conference action.
Pa'akaula had a strong year, averaging 2.89 kills and 2.99 digs per game along with five double-doubles. She notched a career milestone against Stanford on September 9 as she tallied her 1,000th career dig. She is closing in on her 1,000th career dig as she currently has 928 to her credit. Pa'kaula earned All-MAAC second team honors in 2004.
Mann, a middle hitter, had an outstanding debut with the Stags averaging 2.65 kills per game along with 0.92 blocks per game. The three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week finished second in the conference with a .377 attack percentage. In her final eight regular season matches, Mann committed just six errors in 129 total attempts and posted 75 kills and a .535 attack percentage.
Canisius junior Jessica Stackhouse was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while Siena freshman Burgandy McCurty was named the Rookie of the Year.
Fairfield, currently on an 19-match winning streak, and will take on fourth-seeded Manhattan in Friday's semifinals of the 2006 MAAC Volleyball Championship.
All-MAAC First Team Mary Boller, Canisius Jessica Stackhouse, Canisius Lindsey Lee, Fairfield Serra Soylu, Saint Peter's Christie Gustafson, Siena Burgandy McCurty, Siena
All-MAAC Second Team Leigh Launhardt, Canisius Katie Mann. Fairfield Jazmin Pa'akaula, Fairfield Barbie Thistle, Fairfield Sherryta Stokes, Manhattan Megan Smith, Rider April London, Siena
Rookie of the Year: Burgandy McCurty, Siena
Setter of the Year: Barbie Thistle, Fairfield
Defensive Player of the Year: Jessica Stackhouse, Canisius
Offensive Player of the Year: Lindsey Lee, Fairfield
Anaconda Sports Coach of the Year: Jeff Werneke, Fairfield
